Microsoft

Microsoft Sends Mixed Signals About Cross-Gen Exclusives

Microsoft showed off a number of first-party games during today’s big Xbox showcase, but contrary to previous statements by the company, it’s not clear how many of them will be coming coming to Xbox One in addition to next-gen’s Xbox Series X. Many games shown were listed just for Xbox Series X, not for Xbox…

Everything Microsoft Showed During Today’s Xbox Showcase

Microsoft finally showed off what it has planned with Halo: Infinite and a bunch of other first-party exclusives today during its Xbox Games Showcase. There were a lot of games, and a lot of exclusives, but not a lot confirmed for this holiday launch of the Xbox Series X. Still, Halo: Infinite at least will…

Here’s Halo Infinite Gameplay, Including The New Grappling Hook

Microsoft kicked off today’s games showcase with a first look at gameplay of Halo Infinite. The assault rifle is back in all its glory. There’s a big map. Everything looks very pretty. And, oh, yeah, there’s a sweet grappling hook. See it all for yourself: The grappling hook is a brand-new tool in 117’s arsenal,…

Here’s Where To Watch Today’s Xbox Series X Showcase

To Infinite, and beyond! Today, Microsoft is hosting an hour-long showcase. According to Xbox’s Aaron Greenberg, the event will laser-focus on upcoming games for Xbox platforms. That means we likely won’t get any hard info about the Xbox Series X price or release date. But hey, at least we get to see what Master Chief’s…

Mixer’s Last Day Was A Ghost Town

It’s been a month since the news of Mixer’s closure hit streamers like a Microsoft-branded bag of hammers. At the time, it was heartbreaking. Some spent years building careers, only for the floor to fall out from under them. Today, the platform shuts down for good. Time for one last hurrah, right? Not really. One…

Xbox Summer Event Lets You Play Demos Of More Than 70 Unreleased Games

If you’re a fan of trying before you buy and being completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of options in front of you, then you’ll be pleased as punch to hear that you now have over 70 new Xbox games to play, and you’ve only got a week to do it. Xbox’s Summer Games Fest…

Microsoft Is Already Stopping Production of Xbox One X

Microsoft is stopping production of the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition consoles, it told The Verge today. It will continue to produce the standard Xbox One S. The news comes after many would-be Xbox owners have had trouble finding the consoles at stores. “As we ramp into the future with Xbox…

Microsoft’s New Flight Simulator Comes On TEN DISCS

If you want to buy Microsoft Flight Simulator like a normal person and download it, then it will download and you’ll play it and everything will be normal. If you want to hold a box, though, you’re going to need both hands, because holy shit. Simulation specialists Aerosoft have been hired by Microsoft to distribute…

The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator is launching on August 18 on PC. The standard edition, with 20 planes and 30 airports, will be part of Xbox Game Pass for PC. The $90 deluxe edition has 25 planes and 35 airports. The $120 premium deluxe edition has 30 planes and 40 airports. I have…

Microsoft is holding another next-gen showcase on July 23, the company announced on Twitter this morning. Unlike the first event in May which focused on third-party games, this event is set to highlight first-party games like Halo: Infinite. It’s scheduled to begin streaming at 12:00 p.m. ET.

The former Mixer employee who raised concerns over racism in leadership is still calling for the manager in question to be fired. Natalia Domingo, who was the platform’s director of business development before it got shuttered, is accused of referring to streamers as “slaves” and herself as a “slave master.”

Former Mixer Employee Calls Out Racism In Management

Over the weekend, former Mixer employee Milan Lee shared a blog describing his experiences with racism while working at Microsoft’s streaming platform, which was shut down today as part of a deal between Microsoft and Facebook. Lee’s post included allegations that he was singled out for being one of the few Black employees at the…

Microsoft Is Shutting Down Mixer, Moving Streaming To Facebook

Microsoft announced today that the company will be shutting down its streaming site Mixer on July 22 and will partner with Facebook Gaming moving forward. The shutdown starts today, with a transition plan laid out by Microsoft for Mixer streamers. Mixer Partners will be granted partner status with Facebook Gaming, and the platform will honor…

What We Still Don’t Know About PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X

Today saw Sony officially unveil the PlayStation 5. Microsoft revealed the Xbox Series X last December. And while we already have quite enough to argue about between design choices and technical specs, there are still a few important things we don’t know about this upcoming pair of game consoles. The biggest mystery surrounding the PlayStation…

Killer Instinct Documentary Reveals Surprising Connection to Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Fighting game community documentarian Esteban Martinez of Hold Back to Block returned this week with a full-length look at the history of Killer Instinct, focusing on its 2013 reboot. Surprisingly, the celebrated competitive fighting games actually has roots in licensed fare like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Green Lantern Double Helix Games was one of…

Game Companies Say They’re Supporting Black Lives Matter, But Few Are Offering Specifics

As protests over the killing of George Floyd by police spread throughout the country last weekend, some of the gaming industry’s biggest companies put out statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. But while a few have shared some specifics about what they’re doing to help fight systemic racism, almost none of them…

Xbox Series X Backwards Compatible Games Will Support Quick Resume Feature And HDR, Microsoft Says

Microsoft explained some of the ways the Xbox Series X will play older games even better than the hardware they were originally created for in a blog post this morning. “Not only should gamers be able to play all of these games from the past, but they should play better than ever before,” Jason Ronald,…

No Man’s Sky Coming To Xbox Game Pass And Windows PC In June

The procedurally-generated universe of Hello Games’ sci-fi epic is getting a massive influx of new explorers next month, as No Man’s Sky joins the Xbox Game Pass subscription service and scores a new Windows PC version. In the nearly four years since its August 2016 release, No Man’s Sky’s has evolved from a relatively bare-bones…

Minecraft Dungeons Is A Fun But Stripped-Down Dungeon Brawler

I’ve spent a few hours clicking through Minecraft Dungeons’ isometric world and, despite how shallow it feels, I’d be content to click through it for several more. Mojang’s attempt to spin its massively popular crafting game into a small Diablo-like is successful, limited only by the narrow ambitions underlying it. Minecraft Dungeons, out May 26…

Minecraft Maker Mojang Is Now Mojang Studios

The studio that built Minecraft is now many studios around the world, working on multiple games and projects. So, on the occasion of the studio’s 11th birthday, Mojang is now officially named Mojang Studios, with a fancy new logo and everything. When video game developer Markus Persson released Minecraft on May 17, 2009, he used…